"Corn is selling for fifty cents a bushel."
"Corn is being sold for fifty cents a bushel."
The commercial world evidently prefers the former sentence. There is a
breeziness and an energy in it that is lacking in the latter. It must,
however, be used with caution. In the following examples the passive
form is decidedly better than the active: "The foundation was being
laid," "They are being educated," "While the speech was being
delivered," etc.
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CHAPTER XII
Prepositions
Clearness and elegance of style are, in no small degree, dependent
upon the choice and right use of prepositions. Many rules have been
formulated, some of which are deserving of consideration, while others
are nearly or quite useless. Among the latter may be mentioned, by way
of illustration, the oft-repeated rule that between or betwixt must
invariably be used when only two things are referred to, and that
among must be employed when more than two are named. While it is true
that the order could not be reversed, that among, when used, must be
employed in reference to three or more persons or things, and that
between may always be employed in speaking of two objects, yet the
practice of many of the best writers does not limit the use of between
to two objects.
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